Say goodbye to rubber 5K medals and paper event guides at runDisney events

Jul 29, 2016 in "Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend"

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New metal 5K medals

Posted: Friday July 29, 2016 9:32am EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Beginning with the 2016 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend, runDisney will be introducing new metal medals for the 5K races.

Disneyland 5K metal medal

Mickey's Holiday 5K part of Wine and Dine

The new metal medals replace the previous rubber medals that were presented to runners taking part in the 5K races. Distances beyond 5K already feature metal medals.

Also new for upcoming runDisney events will be digital event guides in-place of the previous paper guides.

Discuss on the Forums

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216bruceAug 01, 2016

Really won't miss or care about the 5k medals but I hope they still give out rubbery ones for kids races- they're less likely to cause kids an 'oops'. The guides I will miss greatly- wonderful permanent keepsake and great to just thumb through. You can't do that with an e-book.

LAKid53Jul 29, 2016

If runDisney is going to have a true digital guide - not the PDF version already available - then I'm all in. An app with features @dreamfinder mentioned would be fantastic. I just don't want to scroll through a 50 page PDF document with graphics and text on my phone. And while printing out the PDF file may be eco friendly for Disney, it isn't for the rest of us. Can we #blameShanghi? ;)

bkeyes19Jul 29, 2016

I personally prefer the rubber medals. They are lighter and usually had better art work and colors. I am sure I am in the minority.

mousehockey37Jul 29, 2016

Going Eco-friendly on guides (if it's a PDF and you need one and can print before you leave home, there's your paper copy) and potential allergen free with the medals.

OliveMcFlyJul 29, 2016

I've only done the Castaway Cay 5K. We didn't get a guide but I'm glad this time around we may get a metal medal. Although I'm not a great runner it was cool to finish the race.

Uncle LupeJul 29, 2016

Sounds like a test run towards the elimination of all paper maps/time guides.

Texas84Jul 29, 2016

The race guides are already digital. They're just eliminating the paper copy. Unless they're going to make it more mobile-friendly.

Figment82Jul 29, 2016

I like it from a "going green" perspective - it does use a lot of paper and I'm sure most don't get used. When my husband and I both do a race, we only need one copy but we each get one. I'm sure that applies to many families/groups participating together. From a "pack rat" perspective, I'm not a fan. I keep all of my guides in a box with my bibs and other paraphernalia. From time to time, I like to sort through it and reminisce about how things have changed since I started doing Disney races in 2007. Though I guess it'll keep me from piling up even more stuff!

Mad StitchJul 29, 2016

The PDF is what I'm assuming they mean by digital guide. No loss to me. I just scroll through it when it's published for anything new and never look at it again.

dreamfinderJul 29, 2016

I'll await judgement until I see the digital guides. If they just stick with the PDFs and call it a day, that's not real fun. Yeah, I grab a copy on my phone just so I have it, but trying to swipe through 50 pages of PDF to get to the info I need isn't fun. But if it is instead possibly an actual app type deal, or something that truly makes it easy to access necessary information, maybe uses GPS to show your location at the Expo or on course, that could be cool. Biggest downside to that would be no way to really archive the info to reference in future years when we all complain about the changes and how it used to be. Although admittedly outside of double checking the maps to see what is where once or twice, I usually don't open them all that often, so I probably won't miss it all that much.

surfsupdonJul 29, 2016

Will def miss the booklet guides. They are memories and also fun to flip through. You are right- I refer to my guide often during the Weekend, usually keeping it in an easy to spot and never get lost place!! Ha